No matter what
by YoursTrulyUlysses
Summary: Derek told Chloe that he was starting a fever. Will he finally change into a full werewolf this time?
1. No matter what

Just my imagination running wild, so wild that I had to write it down. Or am I just schizo? :S

**Disclaimer : I do not own Darkest Powers. **

**No matter what.  
**

Tori had gone to the shower, Simon was talking with Andrew and Derek went straight to his room after supper, or that's what he told us, to take a nap. Well I knew better. Last night he told me another one of his fevers was coming along, that he would probably Change in the next few days. But I've seen his feverish eyes during supper and something told me that his transformation will happen sooner than he expected.

So I went upstairs to my room, well me and Tori's room, to have a little rest of my own. I opened the door and it was practically pitch black. The lights were off so the only light came from the alarm clock that shone 8:27 P.M. in neon red and the faint glow from the set sun through the window.

I quickly searched for the light switch on the wall, flicked it on and ran to close the blinds on the window. From these past few weeks I couldn't blame myself for thinking that something was going to happen, that a ghostly voice would surface from nowhere, that something might pop up --

My knees buckled and I let out a little yelp before my hand covered it as two brisk raps knocked at my door. I went to open the door, but just as I was about to open it Derek let himself in and closed the door behind him.

He turned around and I immediately knew what was wrong. He looked as feverish as ever. He looked disoriented and fought to keep straight.

I took hold of him. "It's happening. Do you want me to go with you?"

"Yeah," he whispered gruffly. He was barely audible. "We have to..." he took a deep breath as if to concentrate. "Back door. No one can see us."

He really did look awful, but he managed to keep his ground so that we could successfully go out the back door without being seen by Simon or Andrew.

When we got outside the wind was abnormally cold, especially for this time of year. But the cold could come in favor for Derek's fever.

We cut across the tall grassed lawn that nobody bothered to mow in a while, and headed for the forest.

I hung onto him just in case he lost his balance, not like I could catch him or anything, but I also hung onto him for my own benefits. I could barely see anything and Derek as quiet as he can be could easily slip through my eye sight and hearing capacity.

But he was being very gentle, checking every now and then if I was okay. And I was okay. Nowadays I always felt safer when Derek was around. Though if you would have asked me that a week and a half ago, that idea would have never crossed my mind and I would never have believed it. Maybe even laughed at it. But the past two days Derek has changed. He wasn't the creepy bully who threw me across the laundry room and wanted to torment me for his sheer enjoyment anymore, he was actually nice and considerate (around me anyways). He has done everything to protect me, even if it meant to possibly take his life, only to spare mine. He certainly has changed, but he was still Derek.

Though he kept asking me, _I _should have been the one asking _him. He_ was the one about to transform into a wolf, not me. As we got deeper into the forest, with me still clinging onto him, his breath became ragged like he was trying to control his pain.

"Derek, are you okay?" I whispered, not because I wanted to but because I couldn't find my voice. I knew he could still hear me. I've never seen him get this bad this fast. Maybe he _was_ going to turn into full wolf tonight, though last night Derek seemed skeptical about that.

I caught him shaking his head, as a no.

I didn't want to say anything else just in case it would distract him, I didn't want him to talk for no reason. He had to concentrate on other more important things.

I stumbled on a broken branch as we came into a small clearing. The moon shone enough light for me to see a little pond, or just a really big puddle.

I let go of Derek, whose ragged breathing became painful panting. He kind of knew what he had to do so he stripped off everything but his shorts, not even bothering to go somewhere else to change. I'm pretty sure my cheeks went red, though he had no time to notice. I just stood there as he put himself on all fours next to the pond. He put his hands in the water and doused his face with it.

Why did I keep reacting like this? Like a little bubble of warmth was inside me. Was I trying to tell myself something?

Well...if I was seeing this in a movie I would have been "Duh! You're in love with him! How can you not see that?"

Did I really like Derek in that way? Sure Derek's attractive and really nice and protective nowadays, but that didn't mean I actually had feelings for him, right?

Then why was I speaking with such doubt in my voice?

It was not the time to think about that so I came to sit next to him and took some freezing cold water in my hands and rubbed it on his back. It was really hard to hear him in so much pain, I couldn't even bare to think of the physical pain he must be going through.

"Does that make it better? Do you want me to keep on doing it?" I whispered. I wanted to do anything that would make him feel better. There was enough moonlight to see him nod. He couldn't talk because of all that panting. It sounded raspy, dry and hollow. Not a nice sound at all.

I kept massaging the cold water on his back, his shoulders, his arms as he kept gasping and dry heaving and regurgitating until there was nothing left to regurgitate.

He took some deep dry breaths. He hiccoughed and then his breathing became ghastly alarming, like he was hyperventilating. He began choking on his breath, his head on the ground, his hands on his stomach while it kept heaving up the bile.

My hands had become numb from the cold water, but I still helped him go through it as alarmed as I was.

Under my hands I could feel the transformation coming. The hair was starting to sprout, but it never receded like the other times and the muscles started to tense and change.

At that time we were probably thinking the same thing : that he was going to fully transform into a wolf. But whatever the outcome may be I was still going to be there for him, and I told him that.

I've stopped with the water because I couldn't feel my hands anymore, but I still rubbed his back and encouraged him, letting him know that I'm here for him.

Suddenly with a grunt of pain, his back arched, to the point were I thought it was going to snap. It kept on rising and rising until at the very peak it released for a second and shot back up again, Derek letting out a howl of pain.

I continued soothing him, his hair now becoming fur. He always kept his face in his hands as far away from me as possible. Maybe he didn't want me to see him becoming a monster, as he would call it. But I really didn't care, he was still going to be Derek, just in wolf form.

_How do you know that with all those genetic modifications? _Genetic modifications...

I was right. I didn't know what was going to happen, but neither did Derek, so we had to go through this together. for his sake.

"It's okay Derek. You're doing fine. Almost--"

An earsplitting crack coming from Derek's body made me gasp and made Derek muffle a scream of pain in his hands and collapse to the ground.

He tried his best to get up but with everything changing he couldn't sustain his body. So I tried to help him up, using all the strength I had but the sweat matted on his hair made it very hard to lift.

His bones started crackling, changing their shape. The sound was horrendous, with his bones crackling and his multiple pants and dry heaves that sounded like he would cough up his insides, I had to close my eyes to help me from fainting. And fainting wouldn't be such a great idea right now.

I was sweating as much as Derek now, with my body in overdrive and the adrenaline rushing through my blood. With my eyes still closed, I wiped the sweat off my brow with my forearm. When I thought I could open my eyes Derek was only raggedly breathing. Somewhat of an improvement.

The transformation seemed to have had a set back, nothing was happening at the moment. I guessed he wasn't going to transform into a full wolf tonight. Now we just had to wait until he returned back to normal.

He started to awkwardly stand up, facing the other way so that I couldn't see him.

I stood up as well, not knowing what he was doing. "Derek, you have to stay down, you have to wait!... Derek?"

He took a hesitant look my way, his eyes full of utter terror and fear. As soon as I could properly see him in the moonlight, I put my hands to my mouth, mentally gasping in my head to not hurt his feelings.

He was caught half human half wolf.

Was he stuck like this? Was he supposed to change back? Is this what they modified in his genes?

To break my string of questions another convulsion hit him. He quickly turned away grabbing a nearby tree for support.

As I prepared myself for him to start the reversal of his transformation, his fur started to grow again, which was obviously not what I expected.

I opened my mouth to ask him to sit back down, but without a warning, he ran away.

**Duh duh duh! Why on earth did he run away? Will he finally turn into a wolf this time ?**

**Please review!! review... review.. review... view.. view...ew...**

**Next chapter will come soon enough. Still writing it at the mo'. Patience, and you shall be granted another chapter! Hurray!  
**

YoursTrulyUlysses


	2. Life's obstacles

**Disclaimer : No ownage. Wait..... nope I'm sure.**

**Life's obsticles**

"Derek!" My shout echoing in the middle of the forest. I took two steps in the direction he had gone.

I was truly panicking now. What was I supposed to do? Surely I had to go after him, but I know nothing of this forest and I could easily get lost.

Something creaked behind me. I turned around but I couldn't see anything clearly. Another creak to my left.

I started to feel paranoid, my heart beat and breath accelerated.

It was probably just some little forest animal. A bird squawked nearby, my hands at my mouth to stifle my yelp. My hands began trembling, not just because of the cold, but because of the fear. I could see my every breath in little puffs of condensation coming out of my mouth. Everything was quiet then. Eerily quiet.

I tensed.

Maybe I've seen this too many times in movies, but whenever there was no music and that everything was quiet, something frightening tended to pop out of nowhere.

I stood there listening, but nothing came.

I was truly being useless over here. What I should be doing was looking for Derek. So with my arms around myself I began walking in the direction Derek had gone.

With the trees blocking the only light source I had, I couldn't see one thing. Having enhanced abilities would sure be beneficial sometimes.

I had to feel my way through the forest, with no clue if I was going in the right direction. I tried to look for any signs that Derek had been around. I listened hard into the motionless forest to see if I could hear him. Nothing.

Maybe I had gone the wrong way. Or maybe Derek was many kilometers away from me so that I really couldn't find him. But Derek can be very quiet and he could probably sense me coming his way just by sniffing the air, or just listen for my stumbling and heavy breathing.

There was absolutely no way in the world I would be able to find him in this forest unless _he _was the one who came for me. I was officially lost, with no knowledge of how to get back to the house. I could only pray that Derek would change, come find me and bring us back.

Since I was stuck in this forest, I might as well keep on looking for him. I couldn't get more lost that I already was.

I stopped and put my hands like a cone to my mouth.

"Derek?!" It echoed in the forest. I listened very carefully, but again, nothing came.

I started feeling my way through the forest screaming his name as I went when I fell landing face first in the muddy ground.

I wasn't so sure I fell on my own that time. I actually felt like I've been pushed. I could still feel the punch from the push on my back.

I scrambled up, wiping the mud off my face and clothes. I looked around me very slowly.

Something suddenly hit my head. It stuck in my hair.

It was a pine cone.

I turned around to see a faint glow crossing my peripheral vision very quickly.

I tried looking for it, already knowing it was a ghost. Though it wasn't just any ghost, it was an Agito. Maybe it would be able to help me.

"P-please sh-show yourself."

It flashed very quickly again behind the trees.

"Show yourself, or...or I'll make you, and I think you know what I am." I said firmly.

Ten seconds passed.

"Are you still here?"

"Yes," said an unexpectedly timid voice coming from the trees in front of me.

I saw the little boy peeking behind the tree. He had a very fresh, lovely face with short dark brown hair, nice big green eyes, beautiful full lips with some freckles across his cheeks and nose. His clothes were all tattered, like he'd been out here for a while before he... died.

"Oh, hi there little boy. I didn't mean to scare you." I tried to use the most soothing voice I had.

He stepped around the tree a little hesitant. I encouraged him to come forth.

"That's okay, I won't hurt you." As he came closer I crouched down to his level.

"Hi honey, what's your name?"

"Collin Hopewell."

"That's a nice name. How old are you Collin?"

"Seven."

"Do you know what happened to you?" I really hoped he knew he was dead, unlike Liz.

"Yes, but my mommy didn't tell me a lot at the time. We were running away from mean people who wanted to kill us. Me and mommy got separated. I was in here for a long time. No one ever found me and I never found my way out. I don't know how it happened." His voice had gotten very sad and he was getting teary eyed.

My motherly side must have kicked in because I wanted to hold him, console him and say that everything was going to be okay. But there were a lot of reasons why I couldn't do that.

"I'm so sorry Collin." I wondered if he actually knew of the supernatural world, and if he knew he was an Agito. "Do you know who these mean people were?"

"No, but I think my mommy did."

Maybe they were running away from Dr. Lyle since he was half-demon. Only Agito ghosts could move things. But Dr. Lyle dies at least sixty years ago.

"Do you remember what year you were born Collin?"

"Yes, of course. I was born June 27th 1937."

It was possible. A moment of silence. Then I remembered Derek.

"Do you know this forest very well?"

"Yes quite a bit. I've been here for a long time. There isn't much better to do but scout the place."

"Would you help me find my friend then? He's lost and I can't find him."

"Okay."

We searched, listened, and called to what seemed a little while. Then I remembered that Derek would probably want something cold, like the water earlier, to help him.

"Collin, is there a pond or a river in this forest?"

"Yes, there's a river that flows not far from here."

"Could you lead me to --"

A very loud wolf howl cut me off. And it was pretty close to where we stood. I froze.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Back at the house

Simon walked up the stairs to see his brother. He opened his door, but his brother wasn't there.

He frowned. "Derek? ... Yo man if you're trying to scare me it won't work." He waited for his brother to come out.

"Derek?"

He went back downstairs, to the kitchen where Tori was sipping on her hot chocolate.

"Have you seen Derek? I can't find him and he's not in the room like he told us."

"Why should _I _know where he is. I don't keep tabs. But now that you mention it, Chloe hasn't been around either."

Simon stepped out of the kitchen. " Andrew?"

"Yeah?" Andrew said walking into the kitchen.

"Have you seen Derek or Chloe around? Because I haven't and I can't find them."

"Are you su--"

A piercing wolf howl echoed from outside, in the forest.

"Is that who I think it is?" said Tori.

"Simon, has Derek said anything, or looked sick lately?"

"I - I don't know. He said he was going for some sleep after supper, but he didn't look that bad right? I mean I don't always pay attention to him _all _the time and he barely said anything at supper. So didn't really have the reason to. I'm sorry, but I have no clue. It _could _be him. Maybe he worsened during his sleep or something? And he always brings Chloe right?"

"What ?! He brings Chloe along?!" Andrew stormed.

"What's wrong Andrew?" Tori said a little shocked.

"Andrew, listen to me, he's not like that. Trust me. Derek wouldn't dare hurting anyone."

Andrew raised his eyebrow.

"He's changed. He's not like that anymore. He knows how to behave himself and he's trying very hard."

"Well I still say we go look for them. It's really dark outside and they'll get lost."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Was that Derek trying to lead me to him? Maybe he needed help. But if that _was _Derek then that meant he fully transformed. But what if it wasn't Derek and just some ordinary wolf? How was I going to tell the difference?

"That came from the river," Collin said quietly.

"Could you lead me to it?"

"But there's a wolf there." He looked confused.

"Yes I know. Could you still show me the way please?" I said calmly.

Though I may have looked calm, inside, my heart was pumping in overdrive. I was anxious, paranoid and scared.

Was I scared to see what Derek looked like? Or that he would hurt me?

It was pretty pathetic of me, but I had a right to be scared, but not just of Derek, but of everyone else in the house, including me, because we were all facing the unknown.

Collin led me the way to the river soundlessly. The closer we got, the louder was the stream.

There was finally a clearing, about two meters of flat grass before the actual river. I could finally see once more, with the moonlight glittering beautifully on the river.

I looked around for Derek, or maybe I should have been looking for a wolf. Now that I was here, I kind of wanted to do this alone. I didn't want Collin to see this.

I turned around to him. " Thank you so much for bringing me here Collin, but you shouldn't be here right now. It really would be best if you didn't see this."

"But why? There's nothing here. I think the wolf must be gone too."

"I'll explain later, I promise. Now have you seen an old Victorian house? It's probably the only house in this forest."

"Yes, I know where it is."

"Good. Go there and go to the second door on the right on the second floor. That's my room. I'll meet you there in the morning and explain everything, okay?"

"Okay. I trust you. Make it quick?"

"I'll be there as soon as I can alright? Please be careful Collin."

He turned and I couldn't see him anymore. He was a really nice boy. I've never felt like this towardsa child before. I felt so much sympathy and protectiveness. He must have been so lonely, disoriented and scared without his mother. I know I did.

**Please please please review my little dahlings. I need some feedback, good or bad. I love to hear what you have to say, because I don't want to keep posting crappy stories.**

**Thank you! **

YoursTrulyUlysses


	3. Everything's Changing

**Disclaimer : Hear ye, hear ye. I do not, yes do NOT, own the Darkest Powers trilogy.**

I waited a minute just to make sure Collin was gone. The wind was picking up, leaving the light but cold breeze. The leaves rustled softly all around me. I shivered.

"Derek?" I whispered.

I heard an odd whimpers then some noises in the bushes on the other side of the river.

"Derek, if t-that's you, c-can you p-please come out?"

A figure popped from the bushes.

"Derek?" I whispered again just making sure it was him.

He fully came out, making eye contact with me. The he bowed his head, as if taking a look at what he looked like in the water and not liking what he saw. He looked back up, then made his way running through the river, over to my side.

The paws wet, he stood there looking at me with his gaze. A gaze of acknowledgment and intelligence.

"Is that you?" I whispered walking tentatively over to him with my hand reached out for him.

The second I got to close to him, he snapped his teeth very closely to my hand then growled, making me jump and pull my hand back brusquely. I then lost balance and fell on the ground five feet away from the wolf.

Yes I said _the wolf _because I no longer thought that it was Derek. This was an actual wild wolf and I was trying to pet it! Though it didn't look like a normal wolf. That's what was confusing me.

Still on my soar bottom, the wolf started whimpering and stepped toward me.

I tried getting up but then it yelped softly making me stay where I was. I t kept on getting closer to me until it was practically next to my horrorstruck face.

It looked at me in the eyes again. It had piercing green eyes, just like Derek has... Now that I looked at it, it was probably bigger than the average wolf, just like Derek was... It also had nice dark fur, like Derek had nice dark hair...

"Derek." I said, not as a question but recognition.

He bowed his head and I grabbed his face to bring it back up so that _I _could now look at him straight in the eyes.

"I told you. It doesn't matter what you are to me, and I truly mean that. You're not that monster Derek and you know it. Don't make what you are control who you are. You're still you."

He whimpered softly.

"I know this might be hard for you, but that's why I'm here. So that you don't have to do this alone. So that we could do it together, because I know that I would want someone there for me."

He put his wet muzzle on my shoulder. A little silence passed.

"You know, you're probably the best looking wolf I've ever seen if that makes you feel any better."

He gently growled, almost like a cat's purr but raspier. I think it was a laugh.

I could almost see him in human form rolling his eyes at me and laughing at my absurdities.

"Ha ha... So what do we do now?"

"Chloe! Derek!" I gasped at the unexpected voices coming from far away. They sounded very much like Simon. "Chloe!?"

Derek lifted his head at the callings.

"Simon?" I asked him.

He bowed.

"Chloe? Derek?" That voice was a little deeper so I guessed it was Andrew. I didn't hear Tori but I was sure she wouldn't want to stay alone in the safe house, so she probably tagged along.

Derek nudged me. I got up from the ground. "What do we do?" I said whispered urgently.

He started to look around, contemplating. I could still hear the muffled shouts in the quiet forest.

Derek started to wipe his right paw in the dirt. I was wondering what he was doing when I started to see some letters engraved in the ground.

I guess Derek kept his brains even as a wolf.

He kept on scratching until I made out the words, my back.

"You want me to go on your back?" I asked incredulously.

Well he was a werewolf so maybe he kept his super strength just like all his other enhanced abilities. I really hoped so.

He was pretty tall so I had to work to straddle him. I felt like I was on a little pony except this one had very long, soft, fur. Clearly not your average pony by any means.

When he started to walk forward, I lost my balance but managed to get it back so I wrapped my arms around his collar before he started walking again.

We went through the river, managing to keep me dry. Although it was a cold night, Derek was seriously a space heater and I was able to get warm in no time.

Now that we were on the other side of the river, he broke into a run. With the moonlight gone once more I could barely make anything out, only seeing blurry things pass by at full speed beside me.

Scared out of my mind that we were going to hit something, I buried my face in his collar. It was quite peaceful, I could barely feel his run, just a soft rocking that could eventually make me go to sleep. It was like closing your eyes on a moving boat or a swing, only sensing the rocking motion.

His fur was so soft it was like hugging a teddy bear and he smelled very woodsy. I started stroking his fur feeling the texture and the softness.

I didn't know what I was going to expect from Derek. I couldn't wrap my mind around the whole Hollywood version of werewolf, but I also couldn't wrap my mind around the fact of a human being turning into a full on wolf either.

Though I was much happy that he didn't turn out as the Hollywood horrifying man eating beasts version, I kind of knew he wouldn't because that's not the kind of person Derek is. Now if he would of acted like an obnoxious, rebellious, angry person then maybe I would have changed my mind.

I think I fell asleep because when I opened my eyes I was now on the ground. Confused and a little tired from the sleep I pushed myself then wiped my eyes with my hands. I looked around and saw Derek in human form still in only his shorts sitting about three feet away from me, knees up and arms loosely around them, looking at me. He had a weird expression on his face. One I've never seen before.

I sprang up and gasped "Derek! Are you okay?" and went to sit beside him. "I'm so sorry. I dozed off. I shouldn't have. Ugh, that was so stupid of me! And I knew - "

"Chloe. Chloe. I'm fine okay? Don't worry. You needed your sleep anyways."

"Oh Derek!" I said as I wrapped my arms around him. "I'm so glad you're okay." I muffled against his bare shoulder. " How long did I sleep for?" I pulled away from him, cheeks a little red.

"I'd say about an hour."

"Oh. Well do you know what time it is?"

"I'm guessing, from the position of the moon and the light, about one thirty in the morning." he said as he scratched his head.

"Thanks."

"So were you talking to a ghost earlier? I heard you talking."

"Oh, yeah. I met a little boy who actually died in here. Isn't that horrible? He said that him and his mom were running away from people and he got lost."

"That sucks."

"Yeah. And the weirdest thing of all is that he's an Agito half-demon."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah. Do you think they were running away from Dr. Lyle. He was born in 1937, so that's possible right?"

" I think it's just a little bit more than possible."

"I wonder what happened to his mom...." I suddenly gasped loudly, put my hands to my mouth and almost started to cry because I think I knew who Collin's mom was.

"Chloe, what's wrong? Are you okay?" he said shaking me a little.

"D-Derek? Do- do you remember the s-spirits that I summoned back at L-Lyle House? That one woman...." I shuddered.

"That wouldn't make sense Chloe, she was a witch remember?... Unless the little guy was using magic to move things."

"He looked exactly like her." I remembered her spirit so clearly.

"Maybe. But I don't recall any sorcerer ghosts being able to move things except for Agitos Chloe. I just think were missing information."

"Missing..."

A good long silent minute passed.

"Why did you leave?" I whispered looking at the ground. I looked up but he was now staring at the ground.

He sighed. " Chloe, I never want to have to hurt you. Never. I didn't know what I was going to become and I didn't want you to be there if things went badly."

I could tell that he wasn't telling me the whole story. " There's something else." I whispered looking straight at him.

He finally looked up at me, his green eyes piercing. " I didn't know what you would think of me."

"Derek.."

"No, it's okay. I know now that you don't care what I am. That's basically what helped me change back. To know that someone cares about me. I'm not used to that." He smiled a little smile.

"It really doesn't matter. As long as you're always you, you'll always have someone caring for you." I said blushing a little, making myself look at the ground.

I didn't expect his to do what he did next. He grabbed my chin very softly and pulled it up so that I could look at him.

"Thanks." he said uncharacteristically soft. His green eyes were scorchingly beautiful and penetrating.

He slowly made his fingers go the long of my jaw.

We looked at each other straight in the eyes then he looked like he was concentrating on something.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" I whispered.

A little pause.

"Umm... this may sound weird, but...I feel like I...I think that...umm..." he took a deep breath " You know what? Never mind."

"No Derek, tell me."

He looked at me carefully with strained eyes. "Chloe, do you have any feelings for Simon?"

"Why are you asking me this?"

"Please Chloe, just answer."

"Well your brother is a very nice person and really fun to hang around with…" Derek looked a little devastated by my answer. So I tried again, attempting with all my might to convey the message. "But he's not you." He slowly raised his head and stared at me to what seemed like an eternity to see if I really meant it. I guess my face showed what I felt because Derek smiled one of the most dazzling smiles I've ever seen.

**Please please review... Please.**

**PS. I've changed the ending for continuation purposes because I didn't think that Derek saying ILY was quite the right time for him to say that. But don't fret, I'm most definitely sure that he will in future chapters. **


	4. Let the True Feelings Show

_**Alright, well I'm going to start by apologizing to everyone since I havn't updated...for like what? 6 months? And I feel really bad for not writing anything since not too long ago. I don't want to be making any excuses, but I was a little busy with sports and such, and most of the time I just didn't feel like writing...which could be called a tragedy because I love writing. But I finally kicked myself in the butt to do this and it was actually really fun composing it. I hope this chapter makes up for it, it contains a lot of Chloe and Derek fluffage. I'm not going to promise any updates soon, but I will do it! Especially with the Reckoning coming out tomorrow, people aren't going to want to read old stories...well then. I hope you guys are buying or reading The Reckoning asap because i know i will! **_

**_Let the true feelings show_**

I smiled back, which made him smile even more.

"Your smile is very contagious."

"Haha, thank you? And since when do you give out compliments?"

Laughing he said, "Umm I guess since now. Is that a problem?"

At that moment I felt so elated because _Derek _has just given _me_ a compliment. Never have I ever hear him say anything of that sort, and never have I seen him laugh or smile this much, ever. I didn't want this moment to end, I really didn't.

"Not at all." And with that, I had to smile one more time. This was becoming like an endless smiling moment.

Derek still grinning asked, "So what do we do now?"

That was a very good question. Some part of me wanted to go back to the safety and warmth of the safe house, but the other part wanted to stay here with Derek. It was quite the dilemma. "I'm not sure…" It was true that Andrew, Simon and Tori were looking for us and it would be rude not to go back to them, but I couldn't bring myself up to suggesting this purely out of selfish needs.

"Well are you tired? Cause we can always go back to the house…But if your not, maybe this would be a good time to scout this place out, you know, for like future references and stuff…"

That made sense to me. Just in case we got caught at the safe house and that we needed to escape, we could always go through the forest if it leads to anywhere. But this seemed like just an escape for me and Derek, which was oddly something I really wanted to do. I didn't want to go back at the house, I didn't want to be under constant looks of Andrew, under all those rules. Tonight I didn't want to care about that. Tonight I'm going to be normal, or as normal as I can be…I just don't know if this escape means the same to Derek as it does to me.

"No, I'm awake now."

"Are you sure? You seem to never have any time to sleep lately…mainly because of me."

"That's not true. Although, I could say the same thing to you. I actually don't recall you ever sleeping since we left Lyle house…" I said trying to remember and failing.

"Well I have."

"Derek, an hour or two doesn't really count."

He sighed. "I don't know Chloe. Ever since we left Lyle house I feel different. Though it's probably the…" He looked at me with reluctance. "The wolf side of me kicking in."

"But it's so unhealthy to do that Derek. We don't expect you to always be the one to protect us…"

He looked slightly pained. "Chloe, I told you. I'm never going to hurt you, and that doubles for whatever is out there. I'm going to keep you safe whatever it takes and I'm not going to take chances."

I had a loss of words. I couldn't think up of anything to say other than look at him with a mixture of aw and affection. Derek is probably the most selfless person I've ever met.

He cleared his throat. "So, uh, should we go and look around?"

I tried to clear my head. "Um, yeah. Let's go." I started walking without knowing where I was going. I turned around to see him with a smirk on his face. "Maybe you should lead the way…"

"Yeah good idea." He chuckled.

"Hey! Was that an insult?" I said jokingly.

He walked by me, turned around and smiled. "Nope, just the truth."

"Oh you're gonna pay for that!"

"Oh really?" he said playfully.

"Yeah you better run cause I'm gonna go all kung-fu on ya! And trust me I've seen enough movies to pick up some tips." He started running, a little slow, which meant that he was going to let me win, but I didn't want that so I yelled "Is that the fastest you can run?" to taunt him, and it worked. He started to sprint and me running right behind him until he gave up, turned around and I smacked right into his chest having no time for stopping. Both of us were breathing really hard trying to refill our lungs. I still clung to him and we both looked at each other still breathing heavily.

Not forgetting why we just ran this far, I lift my hand from his chest and I sucker punch him on the arm. "Got'cha."

He smiled. "You're faster than I thought."

I laughed. "You better think twice before insulting me again Derek Souza."

"Haha, I definitely will."

We both let massive sighs at the same time.

Right then and there I felt the urge to kiss him with all my effort. I felt as though there was this undeniably big intensity as we both looked at each other. I really wanted to know what he was thinking. Was it the same thing that I was thinking? Did he even think of me that way? But something told me that this was going to be inevitable, that there really is something between me and Derek.

I just loved the way he looks at me. The way I feel so important around him. The way I feel safe and protected. He was really something to me.

At that moment it looked like he was reading my thoughts and conveying it wordlessly. I have a huge desire to do it that I won't be able to contain it anymore.

Without a second between my thought, he grabbed my face in his warm hands and looked at me with so much emotion, with so much passion. I think all the emotions in my body just let go, it was overwhelming. I felt affection, desire, ecstasy, joy, love, thrill and warmth. I was so ecstatic that he felt the same way.

He leaned towards my lips, testing if I was going to respond. Clearly I was going to and he was going a little slow for my liking so I crushed my lips on his with as much fervour as I could manage. I needed him at this point and I think he understood as he responded with just as much eagerness.

My fingers were feeling his chest with greediness. He was just so damn muscular that I couldn't resist. His hands by then were on my back closing the meager space that separated us. I didn't have much experience with this sort of things, but I've seen it countless times in movies, and this felt right enough.

We were now breathing heavily, but we both wanted more as we didn't stop. He was all over me, letting all his hesitation out. He kissed my lips then moved to my jaw, to the side of my neck. He let out a little growl that ignited ecstasy through my veins. Still kissing me, he propped me up on a tree, and I folded my legs around his hips to get him even closer to me if that was possible. I let out a little moan as the feeling was like sheer bliss. Another growl left his lips, as I encouraged him to continue. I'm no expert at this stuff, but I was sure he had a hard on, and that turned me on even more. I didn't know where this was leading but I didn't want it to stop. We then fell to the ground and he deliberately took off my shirt, leaving me with my bra and my jeans. I felt a little self conscious but it quickly went away when he looked at me and said "Chloe, you're so beautiful" with so much passion I melted. I couldn't help but let out a barely audible "Derek".

By this time we were all full of mud, but I didn't care. All I cared in the world at that moment was Derek.

**Please review! Tell me what to improve on. What you like, what you dislike. I need it all. So just give it to me! haha**

**- YoursTrulyUlysses**


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